WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 19 May 1930, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS

GENERAL ELECTION. LABOUR’S ASPIRATION. \Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, May 15. Those good folks'who are hoping for a return to the ’two party system in the politics of the country—a coalition lietween. United'and Reform to keep Laibour out of office—are scolding Air H. E. Holland for not letting them know how his party would vote in the event of Reform tabling another vote of no-confidence in the Government during the approaching session of Parliament. “He must lall back on such weak evasions as lie used m replying to a questioner at Frunkton,” one of them complains. “He was asked whether the Labour Party would yote with Reform to put out the'Umt-

' ed Government. His answer was 1 that his party dealt with situations as they arose and had not discussed its attitude should such a contingency arise during the coining session.” It is difficult to understand, the critic protests, flow a party which prides itself on its readiness for any emergency can have such a possibility out of its consideration. And why not? LABOUR’S LIMITATIONS. The truth of the matter is that Labour lias no liking for either United or Reform, but regards United as the less of two evils. As much as •tin’s members of the party have stated in tlie House and on the platform again and again, and it is tolerably safe to say that in the event of another assault upon the Government from the Reform benches during, the approaching session of Parliament Mr ] H. E. Holland and his by .no means insignificant Ixuly of followers would • stand by the United .Party. It is < the opinion of observant and disinter- I

ested authorities, indeed, that the Labour Party is not likely to make any further progress on its own account under the present leadership than it already has made. Air Holland is studious, alert, persistent and sufficiently fluent hut among the Labour group in Parliament there are at least half a dozen better equipped for the public platform than is their leader. Mr Nash, the latest addition to the group, is perhaps the most effective of them all. CABINET AT ROTORUA. The public was disappointed this morning at find, in the early newspaper no account of the proceedings at the meeting of the. Cabinet at Rotorua. yesterday. Quite a mini her of people had expected to learn qf something in the nature of a political revolution, possibly the resignation ol Sir Joseph Ward, the appointment of the Hon. G. W. Forties as his.succes-

sor,! and invitations to the Right Hon. .L G. "Coates and the Hon. \ji’. i.Downie stpwart to .join, the Ministry. ! As 'it Was,'the only news available *'to j them Witts that Air G. C. I Hack, the hiembui 1 ' for Alotiioka and junior Uni’tcd' whip, and Air T. W. McDonald,’ thb nvohUler for Wairarapa, had travelled to Rotor im • with- the. parliamentary'party. Mr Black, no doubt, was present - in the interests of his party and Air McDonald explained he uttolidod for the purpost' of] placijig before jCabiuc.t a' matter ai'fectimr his electorate: The newsppaers conveyed the. farther information tl\at Sir Joseph had been at Rotorua for four months {hereabouts.. ” ' v SPIRITED TEACHERS/ At the annual conference of *ho Ne'w 'Zealand-. Educational conference yes'teidl'ay, Alias Finlayson and . Ali,ss Turner, two Canterbury lady, .teachers, * roundly; deprecated . the? suggestion

that, in order to mitigate the .unemployment trouble, married women I should not be given appointments in , the teaching .profession. Miss Finlayi son declared that it would l>e humiliating to women if they were allowed to hold a position in the profession only when they were necessitous. They would be reducing themselves to the state of accepting charity. How was it to be known whether a man was able t<» support his wife or not? For herself she never would dare to ask such a question, even if the person concerned were her own brother or sister. .Miss Turner followed in a similar strain, if the suggestion were logical and righteous, she maintained, then men with private incomes and men who .had wives with private incomes shoi|;ld lie debarred from the service.. The bare idea was preposterous. The Conference, as a body, appears to have been of the same opinion.